Chapter 24
Nick watched in shock as Brendan reeled back, clutching his
stomach. When he pulled his hand back,
Nick could see bright red blood covering it.
Blood had already seeped through his gray t-shirt. Gasping, Brendan sunk to his knees, then
collapsed to the floor.
Nick just stared in disbelief, as his foe lay curled in a ball on
the floor, wreathing in pain. He had
caused it. He had actually stabbed
someone.
But then, looking at Kevin, who was just now waking up, Nick
remembered why he had done it. It
was self-defense, he told himself with confidence.
“Kevin,” he called, hurrying over to his fallen friend.
Kevin sat up slowly and gingerly touched his face. His eye was already beginning to swell, and
Nick knew it would be black and blue in a short while.
“You okay, Kev?” Nick asked, reaching a hand down to help the
older man up.
“Yeah,” Kevin said softly, looking around in confusion. He took Nick’s hand and got to his
feet. Then he looked over at
Brendan. “You did that, Nicky?” he
asked.
“Yeah. It was
self-defense!” Nick protested.
“Hey, I didn’t say anything,” Kevin said, holding up his
hands. “That asshole deserved it. He’s the one that attacked AJ!”
Nick’s mouth dropped open, and he turned to glare at the bleeding
man on the floor, while wicked thoughts ran through his head. That mother f***ing bastard! I’m glad I stabbed him! In fact, I hope he dies!
“Come on; we need to go call the police,” Kevin said, grabbing
Nick’s shirt and tugging him along.
Nick nodded absently and followed Kevin towards the door. He couldn’t help but give Brendan a little
kick on the way out. Brendan let out a
moan of agony, but Nick didn’t care. He
just gave Brendan a little smirk and followed Kevin out the door.
***
Meanwhile, Leighanne pulled into the driveway of the run-down
little house out in the middle of nowhere that “Brian” had stopped at just days
earlier.
Please, God, let him be here, she
pleaded, terrified of what she might find inside the house.
Now, remember, Leighanne had not had much sleep the night before,
which was probably why she was going all alone to the doorstep of an unfamiliar
house that might be the home of Brian’s kidnapper. Common sense was the last thing she cared
about at that point.
What do I do now? Leighanne wondered, when she had made
it to the front door. She shrugged and
tried the doorknob. To her relief, it
was unlocked. Out in the country like
this, she supposed people wouldn’t bother to keep their doors locked.
Please, don’t let there be anyone here, Leighanne
silently pleaded, thinking of any accomplices Brian’s twin might have had.
Taking a deep, shuddering breath, she silently turned the knob and
pushed the door open. She found herself
inside a dark, tiny living room, which reeked of a sickening blend of
mothballs, fried chicken, sweat, and B.O.
Trying not to gag, she made her way through the living room and into
a kitchen. Her shoes crunched down on
the layer of grit that covered the kitchen floor, and she wrinkled her nose at
the piles of dirty dishes, greasy fast food containers, and beer cans that
littered the counters.
Next, she went down a short, narrow hallway that led to two tiny
bedrooms and a bathroom. One was a
virtual storage closet, with heaps of cardboard boxes and pieces of furniture
covered with sheets. The other
contained a twin bed with stained yellowish-white sheets, a cheap dresser, and
some other tacky mismatched furniture.
No sign of Brian or anyone else yet.
She peeked into the bathroom on the way back up the hall and found
it to be just as tiny and gross as the rest of the house. Back in the kitchen, there was another door,
which led to a flight of stairs.
She went down the stairs to the basement, her heart pounding. If he was anywhere in this house, he would
be in that basement.
Towards the bottom of the stairs, there was a landing and a corner
to turn. Leighanne made it to the
landing and sucked in a breath, afraid of what she was going to see when she
turned the corner.
Swallowing hard, she turned the corner. It was very dim in the room she found
herself gazing into, too dim to really see anything. But there was a light switch on the wall
next to her. And so, she flipped on the
light. And when she looked back into
the room, her mouth dropped open. And
then she let out an earth-shattering scream.
***
